An opportunity exists for Universities to partner with local employers, supporting strategic student career choices and uncovering employment laddering to lay foundations for students to upskill in specific career categories. Studies indicate that students lack skills, knowledge, or opportunities to strategically align career goals with educational aspirations and job pathing.
Objective: Increase connection and employment with employers
Problem Statement: A potential opportunity exists for Universities to partner with local employers to help support strategic student career choices and uncover employment laddering options to lay the foundation for students to upskill in select occupational career categories. Studies indicate that students often lack the skills, knowledge or opportunities to strategically align career goals with educational aspirations and relevant job pathing.
Abstract: Many people opt to attend college with the idea that college will lead him or her to a future career. According to Rotrosen, Nantz, and Nunn (2017), “many students with the same college major explore a variety of occupations and career paths, which can impact their probability of employment as well as earnings for decades to come” (para 1). Not all students are focused on what that future career may be, while others are focused; however, are unable to break through their chosen career field or obtain a job after graduation. As stated in University Wire, 2014, “for some students it’s tough to find jobs after graduation” (para 1).
Professors and University administrators alike realize that the path to employment can be uncertain and are struggling with the challenge on how to increase student’s connections to employers, either during or after graduation. To address this issue, The City College of New York created a program that “combines an academic foundation and hands-on projects with four weeks of training plus 12 weeks of work and mentorship at a digital ad agency” (University Wire, 2014, para 2). The objective of this particular program is to “help its students come out of it fully prepared to finally begin their careers” (para 2). While this is one example, the challenge still remains how to assist students to connect to employers and career options.
Similarly, Osterman and Weaver (2016) conducted a study on the connection between community colleges and employer partnerships. At the community college setting, they are known to identify and refine skills for students to be ready for the workforce. Osterman et. al, (2016) noted that despite all the training and academic preparedness for students, there is a lack of documented interactions with employers as they hire their employees (p. 524).
References:
Bridging the gap between college and career. (2014, Nov 04). University Wire Retrieved from
https://search-proquest-com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/docview/1620579949?accountid=134061
Osterman, P., & Weaver, A. (2016). Community Colleges and Employers: How Can We Understand Their
Connection? Industrial Relations, 55(4), 523-545. doi: 10.1111/irel. 12150
Rotrosen, A., Diane, W. S., Nantz, G., & Nunn, R. (2017). Where will your degree take you? career paths
after college. Washington: Brookings Institution Press. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/docview/1898544408?accountid=35812
The researchers plan to conduct qualitative research through the academic community to address these concerns using an open ended survey addressing the following questions:
- How can Universities adapt to the changing workforce needs to support students in career readiness and career choices?
- What role could a University campus play in exposing students to career options and local market employers?
- What role could a University faculty member play in exposing students to career options and local market employers?
- How could a University campus support local employers?
- How can market employers leverage partnerships with University campuses?
- What tools or techniques can Universities employ to help support student career advancement?
The results of the research will provide information that may indicate the potential engagement opportunities for students to associate with employers. The information obtained in this research will be relevant for future research opportunities and may address some of the issues and short comings identified in the referenced articles.